What Consumers Say About Veggies, Perennials

Ball Horticultural Co. worked with an outside firm in 2010 to dig deeper into two consumer trends: grow-your-own vegetables and perennials.

According to information Ball sent out in a December eNewsletter, the study involved six focus groups in three cities and an online survey of more than 300 consumers.

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Two focus groups were conducted in each of the following cities: Chicago, Charlotte, N.C., and Portland, Ore. Some key findings include:

• Forty percent of those surveyed say they started with vegetable and flower gardening at the same time.
• More than half of all vegetable gardens are actually done in pots and containers.
• The No. 1 driver of variety decisions is flavor.
• Seventy-three percent purchased veggies and herbs as plants, rather than seed packs.
• Newer gardeners are more likely to start from plants than from seeds.
• Casual gardeners plant veggies at least once each year; enthusiastic gardeners plant twice.

When it came to perennials, there were more fascinating findings:

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• Males surveyed tended to like perennials because of “ease of use.”
• Perennials are for people who plan to stay put – they are a form of commitment.
• Blooming shrubs and bushes are considered perennials by consumers.
• Most varieties are unknown to the majority of consumers and 50 percent of the study participants say they would use more perennials if they were more familiar with them.
• The No. 1 source of perennial information is a plant tag.

See the full report here.

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